When as Leander young was drown'd 
No heart by Love receiv'd a wound, 
But on a rock himself sat by, 
There weeping sup'rabundantly. 
Sighs numberless he cast about, 
And, all his tapers thus put out, 
His head upon his hand he laid, 
And [sobbing]1 deeply, thus he said:
"Ah, cruel [sea]2," and, looking on't, 
Wept as he'd drown the Hellespont. 
And sure his tongue had more express'd 
[But that]3 his tears forbade the rest.

H. Lawes sets lines 1-4, 7-12

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Confirmed with The Hesperides & Noble Numbers Volume 1 by Robert Herrick, edited by Alfred Pollard, Lawrence & Bullen Limited, London, 1898.

¹ Lawes: "sighing"
² Lawes: "Fate!"
³ Lawes: "Had not"

Text Authorship:

• by Robert Herrick (1591 - 1674), "Leander's Obsequies", appears in The Hesperides, no. 119 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

• by Henry Lawes (c1595 - 1662), "Leander Drownd", published 1655, lines 1-4,7-12 [ voice and continuo ], from The Second Book of Ayres, and Dialogues, no. 13, Confirmed with The Second Book of Ayres and Dialogues, for One, Two, and Three, by Henry Lawes , John Playford, London 1655, Page 12. [sung text checked 1 time]

Researcher for this page: Iain Sneddon [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2021-12-30
Line count: 12
Word count: 78